


burning tires burn holes into hearts

by heavensldh



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, No Angst, No Smut, Nobody Dies, Platonic Relationships, Short Story, Street Racing, but donghyuck tries to beat someone up, renjun worries a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:28:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22104826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavensldh/pseuds/heavensldh
Summary: It takes only a few near death experiences until Donghyuck realises he has things to lose, "things" pronounced like "Renjun".
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	burning tires burn holes into hearts

"I'm going!" "Oh, where?"

When Renjun didn't get a reply from Donghyuck, he lifted his eyes from the magazine he was skimming through and saw him sneaking towards the Locker, thinking no one saw him. Renjun's heart sank a little. Donghyuck disappeared around the corner and Renjun heard him rustle with the lock. He got up from the couch he was lounging on and sneaked into the kitchen. Donghyuck was struggling with the key and didn't hear Renjun come in.

"What are you doing?"

Donghyuck jumped a little and dropped the key in his hands. He quickly took it and hid it in his palm before turning to Renjun. "I was just making sure it was locked", he said. Renjun stared at Donghyuck, trying to intimidate him, but Donghyuck didn't bat an eye. He couldn't believe Donghyuck thought he could be lied to this easily. 

"Really?" he asked and got a shameless nod as an answer. "Okay, we're not doing this again, give me the key".

Renjun put his hand out in front of Donghyuck, expecting him to hand over the key, but Donghyuck wasn't going to let it go so easily. He held onto the key even tighter and braced himself for an argument.

"I know I promised I'd stop but there's this race today. It's really small, only 9 participants, so there probably won't be any accidents", Donghyuck explained.  
"Probably?" Renjun asked.  
"I mean, there won't be", Donghyuck corrected himself.  
"It's still dangerous". Renjun crossed his arms."Last time you came home with broken ribs and a wrecked car".  
"I know but I promise I'll be really careful this time, let me go, please", Donghyuck whined.  
"That's what you said before last time because the second last time you came home with a mild concussion".

Donghyuck didn't know what to say. Renjun looked at him, waiting for an answer, but when the other boy kept quiet, he sighed and sat on the nearest chair, burying his face in his hands.

"You know, this is my hobby", Donghyuck began explaining. "Like painting is yours. You wouldn't stop painting even if someone told you to stop", he said and put his hand on Renjun's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "You can't die while painting", Renjun mumbled and Donghyuck snatched his hand back.  
"You can die while lying in bed doing nothing", he said.  
"Unlikely".

Donghyuck stuck his tongue out. He was fed up with Renjun trying to tell him what to do. Renjun lifted his head and Donghyuck was like nothing ever happened behind his back. Renjun took a deep breath. "You're not going", he said.

"I'm sorry to inform you but I am", Donghyuck said bluntly.

"You could die!" Renjun suddenly raised his voice a little and bolted up from his seat. He was now standing in front of Donghyuck, trying to look big.

"You're concerned for my health and wellbeing, I get that, but I've done this since I was 16 and you know it. Besides I'm really good! The only thing that could harm me is someone beating me up because I opened my mouth", Donghyuck said and tried to make the situation easier by smiling. Renjun looked at him with a confused look on his face. "That doesn't make me feel any better", he said as if it we're self-evident. Donghyuck gulped and glanced around. He squeezed the key in his hands. He didn't know what to say anymore.

"Fine, go!" Renjun said. Donghyuck read between the lines and took it as "go before I change my mind". His face lit up and he skipped to the Locker to get the keys to his car.  
"But if you die I'll kill you. Jaemin will too"

"We have this conversation every time, have you noticed?" Donghyuck said with an impish smile as he turned around, the keys hanging on his finger.

"Because you never listen to me", Renjun complained.

"Try changing your points and I just might", Donghyuck said. He turned back and closed the Locker. "I'm going!" Donghyuck said brightly and walked out of the kitchen, waving the keys around, without a one last look at Renjun. "Have fun", Renjun said quietly and watched as the front door closed with glistening eyes. No, crying was stupid, Donghyuck was good at this and he had never died doing this before, so he would be fine this time too. "Death doesn't come when you most expect it", Renjun said to himself, trying go quote a movie he had watched last week. After he heard an engine start and the fleeting sound of it, Renjun decided to read to get his mind off things.

While Renjun was getting lost in the plot of the book he was reading, Donghyuck was on the other side of the city at the start line of the race, eagerly waiting for the moment it would start. He was sitting in his car, other hand on the steering wheel and other looking for sunglasses from the center console. He always drove with sunglasses on. Not because the sun was out and it hurt his eyes, but because they made him look cool.

Out of nowhere, someone knocked on his window. Donghyuck looked to his left only to meet eyes with Dongyoung, a friend he'd met at a race six years ago. Donghyuck rolled his window down to talk to the man. "Hi Hyuck!" Dongyoung greeted him with a smile.

Dongyoung stood out from the rest of the racers. The others had a lot of tattoos and piercings, smoked and some were having an affair with drugs too, most had been in jail once or twice (usually because of drugs or organizing illegal races) but Dongyoung was the polar opposite. He had zero tattoos and was afraid of needles and blood, he hated the taste of alcohol and the smell of anything involving nicotine and despised people who did drugs. He was an abnormal sight in these circles, but here he was, against all laws of nature.

"Hey, it's been a while", Hyuck said.  
"It has. Wasn't the last time in Tokyo?" Dongyoung asked.  
"Yes, and you kept making Tokyo Drift - jokes", Donghyuck said with dully and made Dongyoung laugh.  
"Right, I did!" Dongyoung fixed his hair that was covering his eyes. "Anyway, what brought you here? I haven't seen you in months".  
Donghyuck shrugged. "I wanted to come again. I tried sneaking out at first but one of my roommates caught me and I had to convince him to let me go, like always", he said.

Dongyoung's expression changed in a blink. "Oh, you still live with the others?" he said like he had been expecting something else.  
"What do you mean?" Donghyuck asked.  
"I just thought you moved out", Dongyoung said, looking down on the other. "I mean, you're 21 now and things aren't like they used to be. Jisung has been legal for over a year now, anyway", he pointed out.  
"They're my friends, I want to live with them", Donghyuck said. He squeezed the steering wheel and ground his teeth without noticing.

Dongyoung was cool, but he didn't get why Donghyuck lived with his 5 friends in the same house. A few years ago when Donghyuck was 17 and his friends hadn't turned 18 yet, Dongyoung was like a big brother and regularly asked how him and the others were doing and offered to help them any way he could, even financially despite being broke himself. Ever since the youngest of them turned 18, Donghyuck didn't want to talk about his friends because Dongyoung could be a pain in the ass and pick on him for living together with his legal friends and for no reason.

"Whatever", Dongyoung said and smiled again, as if he hadn't been glaring at Donghyuck two seconds ago. "Good luck! I won't participate today because I'm on guard but I hope you do well!"  
"Thanks!", Donghyuck said and rolled his window up when Dongyoung left.

-

"Okay, listen up!"

Donghyuck grabbed his steering wheel with both his hands. He could feel the upcoming adrenaline rush.

"Three laps, not more, not less and if any of you die it's not our job to pick up the pieces to send to your parents", the announcer yelled.  
Uh-oh. Donghyuck gulped. This was the first time they had ever said anything about dying while driving before a race. Suddenly Donghyuck wanted to go back home and give each of his roommates a big hug, just in case.

"Today we got the all stars here, there's Loco at the right side and looks like Haechan's back too! Let's hope they don't crash into each other on purpose like last time!"

Donghyuck felt his palms sweating on the leather steering wheel. Loco was a tough competitor and he knew it. He was good at getting inside peoples' heads and predicting what they would do next. Last year in Tokyo Donghyuck had made a foolproof plan on how he would get past the others. Sadly his plan was too unoriginal and Loco guessed his every move. That resulted in Loco taking first place halfway through the race and Donghyuck losing his temper and crashing into him, causing a broken rib on himself and just a little scratch on Loco.

Donghyuck didn't mind losing but since that cocky asshole was racing too he was going to do everything it took to beat him. If he lost to Loco he wouldn't hear the end of it.  
The race was about to start. Every time right before when the others are revving their engines and doing last minute fixes, Donghyuck blanks out. He hears nothing but the announcer and the engines starting. The smell of gasoline and burning tires fills him with adrenaline in a way nothing else could. He's eager to race again and he feels energy run through his veins and his heart beating a hundred times faster than ever. It's like he had been a zombie up until this moment and right there in this moment he comes alive and feels like himself again.

The red flag swished through the air, and Donghyuck was back to his senses. He pressed the gas pedal as hard as he could. He couldn't help but smile as he passed the cars in front of him. It's like he was in a bliss. The euphoria filled every cell in his body and made him desire winning even more than before the race. He felt like he belonged here, sitting inside his car, pressing the gas pedal as hard as he could, watching his kilometers reach and pass 100 per hour. Everything was right. He felt immortal.

But that feeling didn't last for long. After just 100 meters someone tried to drive past him and roughly bumped into his car, resulting in Donghyuck nearly going off road and hitting a lamppost. He could feel his heartbeat in every part of his body and all his limbs felt weak. But he wouldn't give up, he couldn't give up. So he slapped himself and kept speeding.

Halfway through the race, Donghyuck was in second place. In front of him was a newcomer he hadn't seen before. Donghyuck wasn't trying hard to get past them, he was just happy Loco was behind him. Donghyuck took a quick peek at his rearview mirror and saw that the nearest car was almost 50 meters behind him, so he decided to attempt getting past the car in front of him. Donghyuck switched gears and sped up until he was right behind the car. He slowly began turning to the right. The car in front of him turned to the right too, giving Donghyuck a spot on the left to get past them. Donghyuck let himself get behind by a few meters, then switched to the left side and sped up. He looked to his right as he was passing the car and saw… Loco?

Loco gave Donghyuck a smug grin, flipped him off and sped up. Donghyuck got left behind again.

Donghyuck hadn't even thought of trying to get past the car in first place because he didn't think it was Loco. Apparently he had switched cars and someone else had gotten his old car and that's why Donghyuck thought Loco was behind him.

Donghyuck was taken aback, he didn't understand what had just happened. Switching cars was prohibited and Loco wouldn't want to ruin his image with something like that, he had too much pride in how well he "followed all rules" (read "went unnoticed when breaking rules").

Donghyuck quickly noticed he was falling behind, so he switched his gear and sped up with both of his hands on the steering wheel. He wouldn't let Loco win.

And before Donghyuck could realise it, the race was over. Loco came in first, Donghyuck second. The only thing Donghyuck swore he wouldn't let happen had happened right in front of his eyes.

As Donghyuck got out of his car, he heard ear-killing cheers from all around him. He turned his head and saw Loco basking in the spotlight and attention he was getting. Loco turned to him and smiled that annoying smile of his. "I just want to thank someone!" he yelled on top of the cheers. "Lee Donghyuck, my only true homie, who let me win by politely driving 10 meters behind me the whole race!" he said and pointed to mad Donghyuck. Donghyuck saw people laughing at him and pointing at him. He rolled his eyes and got back in his car. "Aw, looks like our Donghyuckie can't take a joke!" Donghyuck heard Loco say with a mocking tone as he drove away.

After most of the audience had left, Donghyuck went up to Loco. "You switched cars", he said. ""Hi" could also be a good conversation opener", Loco answered. "That's against the rules", Donghyuck said. "I sold the car for your information, it had engine problems. Why do you care anyway, you're supposed to be a good second-comer and take what you're given", Loco smirked. Donghyuck scoffed and Loco took that as a win. Donghyck turned around. "As if you didn't throw a tantrum that one time in Seoul when I beat you and you tried everything to get the judges to disqualify me", he muttered under his breath as he walked away.  
"What was that?" Loco asked.  
"Nothing"  
"As it should be, loser"  
"What did you call me?"

Donghyuck turned around and walked back to Loco. "What are you, five? I hate to break it to you but a loser is what you are", Loco said. Donghyuck was easily provoked but now that the one provoking him was someone Donghyuck could call his enemy, he wanted to hit him. Badly. But he decided to control himself. Him and Renjun's conversation they had this morning kept popping up in Donghyuck's mind and he hated losing arguments, especially to Renjun.

"Anyway, fly away little Donghyuckie. I'm sure you'll win the next race, if your helicopter friends let you go", Loco said with a mocking tone. "Okay, that's it", Donghyuck said and swung his fist at the taller one.

-

It was almost 11 p.m. when Renjun finally heard the front door opening. He got up from the couch and rushed to the door. He had been worried sick for the whole night, because races didn't usually last this long and he had had a terrible feeling that something happened to Donghyuck.

"Oh my God!" Renjun yelled and jumped back. Donghyuck didn't look like himself. "I'm going to bed", Donghyuck said and was already heading to the bedrooms, but Renjun stopped him by getting in front of him. "What happened?" he asked. "I died and now I'm a zombie, rawr, I'll bite you", Donghyuck said, exhausted. "Why do you sound so fed up, what happened? Can I at least hug you, I've been worrying the whole night because I thought you died", Renjun said, desperately trying to get Donghyuck's empathetic side out. "Fine", Donghyuck said and Renjun immediately attacked him with the biggest hug he could give. Renjun didn't notice it himself, but Donghyuck noticed Renjun was squeezing his shirt in his fists. He really was glad Donghyuck was home again.

Donghyuck couldn't help but think about what kind of thoughts had crossed Renjun's mind since he came home this late. He felt bad for getting himself in trouble again.

"I got beaten up", Donghyuck almost whispered. He didn't want to break the silence. "I put two and two together", Renjun said and Donghyuck hugged him back.

"I'm assuming you wanna go to bed as soon as possible. You're still bleeding from a few places so you can't. Wait on the couch, I'll need a second", Renjun said and let go of Donghyuck. He disappeared into the bathroom.

Donghyuck sat down on the couch. It was a silent night, so he could hear the others snoring in their rooms. He sighed. "You need to stop getting beaten up so much", Donghyuck said to himself.

Renjun came back with cotton pads and disinfectant spray in his hands. Donghyuck flinched when he saw the bottle. "That stings, right?" he asked. "If it stings, it works. So, hopefully", Renjun said and sat next to Donghyuck. He opened the bottle and sprayed some disinfectant on a cotton pad while Donghyuck looked terrified of what was about to come. "Come closer", Renjun said and Donghyuck leaned in a little. Renjun pressed the cotton pad with the cold liquid onto Donghyuck's temple and the younger hissed and pulled back as he felt it sting. "Come on, you risk your life at these races and now you're scared of the disinfectant stinging", Renjun said and Donghyuck leaned in again.

Renjun took his time carefully wiping the dried up blood off of Donghyuck's face, right arm and shoulder and his left ribs. "Didn't it hurt?" Renjun asked as Donghyuck was hissing in pain. "No, just like this disinfectant doesn't sting", he said, mocking Renjun's question with an obvious answer. "I'm just trying to make a conversation, all you do is hiss at me and it makes me feel weird", Renjun defended himself. "Let's talk about something important then", Donghyuck suggested. "Okay", Renjun agreed, and then they stayed quiet.

After Renjun was done wiping the blood off Donghyuck he opened a tube of cream that heals wounds faster. "I can put this on your face but every other wound is too big, I don't wanna touch them because it's disgusting", Renjun said and handed Donghyuck the tube.

Donghyuck accidentally poked one of the bigger wounds that was still sore as he was putting the cream on it and nearly yelled but Renjun shushed him. Donghyuck held his breath so that he wouldn't wake the others up and handed the tube back to Renjun. Renjun spread a little bit of the cream on the small scratches and cuts on Donghyuck's face. Donghyuck closed his eyes for a second and felt like he could fall asleep right there and then. It felt nice when someone else took care of you. Or maybe he was just a tiny bit touch starved. Either way, Donghyuck wanted to fall asleep like this.  
"So, do you want normal bandages or Hello Kitty ones?" Renjun asked, showing both packages. "Seriously?" Donghyuck asked, staring at the pink packages of bandages clearly meant for kids. "Jisung bought these!" Renjun said. Donghyuck suddenly remembered August 13th, 2016. "Yeah. Hello Kitty", Donghyuck said so quickly his pride stayed untouched.

As Renjun wrapped a hot pink bandage around his finger Donghyuck suddenly felt like his stomach turned upside down, but in a good way. Renjun let go of his finger to take a new bandage. Donghyuck looked around. 

He was home. Loco wasn't here. He didn't have to pretend. He was still in one piece. His 4 best friends were sleeping soundly upstairs and the fifth was right in front of him, telling Donghyuck to come closer so he could put a Hello Kitty bandage on his forehead. He wasn't in a car, unsure of what was going to happen within the next seconds. He was at home where nothing could hurt him or the people close to him. He was being cared for and all he could hear was 4/6 of the house snoring in their rooms and the sounds of their city that never sleeps from the open window. He glanced at Renjun who was focused on making sure the bandages on Donghyuck stays on.

"Renjun", Donghyuck said.

"Yes?"

"I love you"

**Author's Note:**

> i want to thank YOU for reading this exact work, im super grateful you took the time for it !!!!<333 my twitter is @heavenshrj so feel free to follow me and/or give constructive criticism or overall feedback (id really appreciate it) or just come fangirl over this bc im personally my own work's biggest fan hehe  
> also if we're already oomfs and u somehow found this pls dont laugh at me (i didnt promo this on twt at all bc I Am Embarrassed)  
> i went to see the new fast and furious when it came out and got inspiration for this so ive had this in my drafts for a Long Time. but its here now!!!  
> anyway thank you again and i hope u enjoyed it!! ^-^


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